Two Conil players are arrested in a match-fixing network

The Civil Guard has dismantled a criminal organization in the province of Cádiz that was dedicated to fixing Third Division football matches, with the aim of defrauding gaming operators. The 'Monybet operation' has allowed four people to be arrested, the two leaders of the network and two players, specifically the goalkeeper and a defender of a football club.

There are also 34 investigated, of which six are active professional players in the Third Division and the rest are people who provided their identity to act as money mules.

During the searches carried out, 16,695 euros in cash, several cryptocurrency accounts, documentation related to bets and a large amount of mobile telephony and storage computer material have been located.

According to the Civil Guard, the organization was able to obtain benefits in prizes of more than one million euros and it is estimated that there are more than 30,000 people affected by bets made in good faith.

The operation began in February of last year when the Civil Guard learned, through the Board of Directors of the Conil de la Frontera football team, that his team, which was playing to enter the promotion phase, had played a end of season inconsistent with what was done during the first phase of the season. The board had observed that some players were not acting with the professionalism that the matches required, suspecting that they were involved with sports betting.

The first investigations focused on the request for data from the General Directorate of Gaming, the body in charge of controlling all sports bets made in the national territory, of the data of all bets made to Conil CF. during the 2021-2022 season, as well as the bettors, with which he obtained a list of more than 100,000 bets placed.

increased bets

Investigators were struck by the “disproportionate increase” in bets placed on this team's matches during the second phase of the season.. While the bets placed on other teams were between 1 and 50 euros, those placed on Conil CF. They exceeded, in most cases, 300 euros.

To try to hide their activities, they camouflaged the “juicy” bets among other predictable and risk-free bets for First Division matches, in order not to arouse the suspicions of the bookmakers and that they proceed to block the account.

Another method was the use of so-called money “mules”, that is, people who lent their identity as bettors so that the organization could multiply its profits, sometimes in exchange for a percentage of the profits and other times in exchange for privileged information. to place your own bets.

With all this information and after viewing the suspicious matches, unusual errors could be observed in professional players of the Third Division, especially in the goals conceded against Conil CF. After taking statements made to the team's squad, it was found that all suspicions pointed to the goalkeeper and a defender, although it is not ruled out that two other players may also be related.

The leaders of the organization that carried out the fraudulent bets were linked to the world of professional football, since they carried out the work of sports forecasting advisers, known as “tipsters”.. These people were a former player from another team from Cádiz and a soccer coach and, according to the Civil Guard, they had “bought” the goalkeeper and a defender from the Conileño team, who received great benefits for their actions or inactions.

The operation has been coordinated by the Civil Guard in Cádiz and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor of the Provincial Court of Cádiz, coordinated by the Court number 3 of Chiclana de la Frontera.